“Looking for Alibrandi” is the story about a young girl, growing up in Sydney, Australia in the 90s. Josie lives with
her mother and her Nonna (Italian for grandma) and her father, well he is a mystery.
The main character, Josephine Alibrandi, or Josie, is a feisty and strong-willed 17 teen year old, who is constantly battling to find where she belongs in the world. During the years Josie's many problems have piled up in her mind, including her hatred of being illegitimate, hatred of being stuck at a school that is dominated by rich people, her hatred for Nonna, and hatred of being apart of the Sicilian culture that has 'ridiculous rules and restrictions'. Josie is one of those girls who believes that she is alone and no one understands her. Josie is a melodramatic teen who her Mother Christina calls 'selfish and unreasonable', who her friend Lee calls a 'snob', who her Nonna says is 'without respect'. She is far from perfect, but she can admit that herself, she is our heroine.
Jacob Coote, the bad boy, completely opposite from everything Josie has ever stood for, or so she thought. Jacob is everything that Josie is not, but this brings them together, they let each other shine equally as bright. Jacob, unlike Josie does't care what other people think of him. Jacob feels that the world is decided in to groups according to class lines, the only problem with this is that her has a negative view of anyone who is standing in another group to him. He calls Josie a middle class snob and a bore along with all her friends. Lets just say what you see is what you get with Jacob Coote.
Relationships blossom in this story, especially with Nonna who she so strongly disagrees with. Nonna and Josie are more alike then you think, their share certain ideas and views on things that you would never imagine. When Nonna was younger she was just like Josie, but is reluctant to really open up to her about her past. This relationship is a tricky one, but then again all relationships are.
The main issue in this story is that Josie and her friends are all going through extreme pressure during their final year at school, and during this period they will have to make the most important decisions of their lives, and some people can cope with these changes and choices, but others can't. This book just goes to show how had it actually is being an adolescent and all the changes that come with it.
I would recommend this book to teen girls between the ages of 13 and up as it has a little bit of coarse language and sexually graphic details. This story shows the importance of family relationships, emotional changes, and all the things that come with being an adolescent.
I really enjoyed this book. It has made me realise that I am not alone in this strange world and that their are plenty of people out there who are going through the same things as I am. The story was interesting throughout the book and didn't have any of those annoying boring periods, which I cannot stand. This story really inspired me and I hope that it will do the same for anyone who decides to read it.
By Melina Marchetta
Puffin Books.
Copyright 1992.
“Looking for Alibrandi” is the story about a young girl, growing up in Sydney, Australia in the 90s. Josie lives with
her mother and her Nonna (Italian for grandma) and her father, well he is a mystery.
The main character, Josephine Alibrandi, or Josie, is a feisty and strong-willed 17 teen year old, who is constantly battling to find where she belongs in the world. During the years Josie's many problems have piled up in her mind, including her hatred of being illegitimate, hatred of being stuck at a school that is dominated by rich people, her hatred for Nonna, and hatred of being apart of the Sicilian culture that has 'ridiculous rules and restrictions'. Josie is one of those girls who believes that she is alone and no one understands her. Josie is a melodramatic teen who her Mother Christina calls 'selfish and unreasonable', who her friend Lee calls a 'snob', who her Nonna says is 'without respect'. She is far from perfect, but she can admit that herself, she is our heroine.
Jacob Coote, the bad boy, completely opposite from everything Josie has ever stood for, or so she thought. Jacob is everything that Josie is not, but this brings them together, they let each other shine equally as bright. Jacob, unlike Josie does't care what other people think of him. Jacob feels that the world is decided in to groups according to class lines, the only problem with this is that her has a negative view of anyone who is standing in another group to him. He calls Josie a middle class snob and a bore along with all her friends. Lets just say what you see is what you get with Jacob Coote.
Relationships blossom in this story, especially with Nonna who she so strongly disagrees with. Nonna and Josie are more alike then you think, their share certain ideas and views on things that you would never imagine. When Nonna was younger she was just like Josie, but is reluctant to really open up to her about her past. This relationship is a tricky one, but then again all relationships are.
The main issue in this story is that Josie and her friends are all going through extreme pressure during their final year at school, and during this period they will have to make the most important decisions of their lives, and some people can cope with these changes and choices, but others can't. This book just goes to show how had it actually is being an adolescent and all the changes that come with it.
I would recommend this book to teen girls between the ages of 13 and up as it has a little bit of coarse language and sexually graphic details. This story shows the importance of family relationships, emotional changes, and all the things that come with being an adolescent.
I really enjoyed this book. It has made me realise that I am not alone in this strange world and that their are plenty of people out there who are going through the same things as I am. The story was interesting throughout the book and didn't have any of those annoying boring periods, which I cannot stand. This story really inspired me and I hope that it will do the same for anyone who decides to read it.